25-Year-Old Woman Chooses Medically Assisted Death After a Lifetime of Rare, Debilitating Illness
Clinging to the last vestige of power after a lifetime of suffering and hopelessness, a dying young Australian lady has made the painful, contentious decision to end her life through medically assisted death.
In a candid and heartbreaking interview with News.com.au that was published on November 17, 2025, 25-year-old South Australian Annaliese “Annie” Holland disclosed that she had been given permission to pass away following years of relentless decline.
Her approval, which is the consequence of severe symptoms, near-death experiences, and the paralyzing terror of one more, protracted nightmare, exposes the anguish, moral ambiguity, and emotional destruction that families must endure when suffering has driven a person’s life over its breaking point.
Her body twisted against her.
After years of fighting ailments that would not go away, the young woman, who has spent more time in hospital wards than in schoolyards, is now one of about 2,400 Australians who have made this decision.
Initially attributed to endometriosis, Annie’s nightmare started when she was just 12 or 13. Physicians believed that to be the cause of everything. Her life was sucked away by crushing chronic weariness after glandular fever.
The horrifying reality that her body was attacking itself didn’t surface until she was moved to an adult hospital.
Autoimmune Autonomic Ganglionopathy (AAG), an uncommon and severe condition that affects the body’s autopilot system, was the diagnosis made for her. Her heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, and even her ability to urinate were all controlled by nerves that gradually started to malfunction.
If detected early, the ailment is not necessarily lethal. However, in Annie’s instance, the diagnosis was made so late that even the medications were hazardous.
More Issues Were Caused by the Treatments
She is currently experiencing multi-organ failure, with her body shutting down due to malfunctioning nerves that regulate her bowel movements.
She is unable to properly digest food or remove waste as a result of the disastrous issues this has caused.
Eventually, she was put on total parenteral nutrition, or TPN, an intravenous lifeline that bypasses her gastrointestinal system entirely and feeds all of her nutrients directly into her bloodstream.
“At night I am fed with a drip for like 12 hours and I get my fluids the same way to stay hydrated,” Annie shared. For eight years, she has been dependent on TPN, yet it is completely ineffective. There is always a risk of infection, which can quickly lead to sepsis.
This young woman has already experienced 25 terrible episodes of sepsis, each of which required the removal of her TPN line by specialists. Furthermore, there aren’t many major veins in the body that can support such a device securely.
“I have lost so many now that this current line is my last line left for nutrition so if I lose this then I will die of malnutrition,” she said. “There isn’t any way to provide me with food or liquids that I can handle. I don’t want to die of starvation.”
She fought despite her fractured spine and broken bones.
Sadly, her illness’s atrocities don’t end there. A significant portion of her treatment involved steroids, which had terrible side effects, including severe osteoporosis.
After falling asleep on a hospital railing for a few minutes, her bones became so brittle that she cracked her sternum and fractured her spine multiple times.
The doctors informed her that they were at a loss on what to do. Her bones were too weak to tolerate any kind of surgery, thus it was impossible to restore her spine.
Annie wasn’t prepared to give up, though. Unwavering in her resolve, she searched the internet and located a physician who specialized in operating on elderly women suffering from osteoporosis.
They were forced to take a last-ditch risk because her spinal cord was only one fracture away from breaking entirely. After a torturous 13-hour surgery, she spent two months in the hospital recuperating after going into a five-day coma.
It was ultimately worthwhile because she was able to have a straight back. Yet another brutal toll was taken by the steroids. They stopped the blood supply to her bones by causing necrosis.
Her teeth started to erupt and became black. In addition, she endured excruciating dental infections while struggling to maintain her remaining strength.
A Decision That Uplifts Herself but Breaks Her Friends’ Hearts
The young lady, who presently resides in their Adelaide home with her mother, Amanda Holland, father, Patrick Holland, and sister, Vickie Holland, claims that receiving approval for voluntary assisted dying is a huge relief.
She is not, however, rushing to her demise. Instead, after years of being powerless, she at last feels in charge.
“For me, I don’t want to have to wake up every day with anxiety about the pain that I know is ahead for me,” she said. “[…] Knowing I can go when the time is right is just a huge relief.”
Annie feels lucky to have this choice, but despite seeing every bit of her pain, her father still struggles with the heartbreaking reality of letting his daughter leave.
He is all too familiar with the experience. Every hospital stay turns into a catastrophe where things get out of hand.
“The amount of times Annie has been in hospital and on her death bed … to have to sit there and watch her go through it,” he stated to News.com.au. “But she is amazing, anything we have to deal with goes into insignificance because we are not the ones going through it.”
He occasionally became enraged with the doctors since some of their choices caused her excessive suffering. He acknowledges, however, that he could never have withstood the incredible ordeals that Annie did.
Annie is aware that her sister and parents are having a hard time accepting her VAD decision.
She recalled a challenging talk they had one evening in which she informed him she had “had enough.” “Dad is still coming to terms with it, it’s hard for all of them,” she said.
Annie claimed that it was not surrender when Patrick inquired if she was giving up. It was only realizing that she had been repeatedly pushed past her limit.
She spent a number of horrifying nights in the hospital shortly after that heartbreaking conversation, nights so perilous that she required resuscitation.
She looked at her father at one painful moment and said, “Dad, please let me go. I won’t hate you if you do.” I don’t want anything if this occurs once more. Knowing that you are letting me go and refusing treatment is what I really desire.
Patrick finally got it.
Annie might not even make it to the six-month mark, which is one of the requirements for VAD. Her ailment has no time frame. Anything could occur at any time.
A list of goals and a struggle to live before she passes away
Annie’s body has suffered so much that she is unable to lead the carefree life of a typical 25-year-old. Her days consist of a delicate network of tubes and frequent injections of medication. It might end with one misstep or a small piece of equipment malfunctioning.
Annie still experiences nagging stomachaches and bittersweet cravings whenever she observes others eating, despite receiving her nourishment through TPN.
Despite all of the pain, Annie maintains a brave expression. She is making the most of her remaining life rather than just waiting for death.
She is now preparing to move out on her own and is eager to watch Lady Gaga perform live with her mother and sister.
She has also created a sentimental bucket list.
Trying on a wedding gown is one of her most surprising desires. She aspires to try dating even though she hasn’t done so because of her illness.
Annie has never even attended a wedding, although other women her age are preparing weddings and beginning families. She has instead given eulogies at far too many funerals for young individuals who, like her, were taken too soon.
However, she is already anticipating renting her first apartment, a tiny bit of independence in a world that has deprived her of so much. The opportunity to live independently is crucial, even if she is aware that she will still require assistance and be unable to work.
“I’m really, really excited about it because even if it’s only for a short time, it is something I can tick off the list and at least experience,” Annie stated.
Annie has no resentment in that regard, even if her illness would never have progressed to such a disastrous degree if it had been identified earlier. Rather, she hopes that by telling her tale, the next person will receive a diagnosis sooner and avoid the pain she endured.
Nevertheless, she has struggled with the purpose of her life and the legacy she will leave behind as she approaches the end of her days. She ultimately decided to discuss her illness in public for this reason.
A Tiny Bit of Envy
Despite her reluctance to admit it, Annie frequently felt envious of the elderly and ill patients in hospitals because they were allowed to live their lives.
She has missed a lot of important occasions. At first, it didn’t hurt as much since she genuinely thought she would eventually recover and see everything that lay outside the hospital.
However, things got too tough, and she felt enraged with the world because she was the only one left while all her friends moved on.
At one point, she envisioned herself in a typical future. Rather, two years ago, during yet another exhausting hospital stay, Annie looked in the mirror and did not recognize the person staring back, which is why she is now using her voice.
Her days had turned into a terrible and unrelenting routine of taking medicine and just hoping to get through the night.
It wasn’t alive. She wanted to make the most of her remaining quality of life, so she informed her doctors that palliative care was necessary.
“It prevented me from going to the hospital for over a year last year, which is unprecedented. It’s incredible that they’ve been able to keep me with my family where I want to be and handle everything from home,” she said.
The Friend Who Initiated This Choice
Annie expressed a gentle hope for the hereafter during the interview. In her dreams, she sees food in heaven, including pizza, coconuts, and everything else she has never been able to taste.
Above all, she would like to share a piece with her close friend Lily Thai, who battled Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and passed away in June 2023 due to VAD.
Annie’s eyes were first opened to that road by Lily. Annie never thought she would experience something so final at the time. There was always the possibility that things would become better.
However, everything changed when she grew ill and was asked to stay by Lily’s side in her last moments.
“As they carried out the euthanasia, I clutched her hand. And that was among the most exquisite events I had ever participated in. “It was so [expletive] peaceful,” she disclosed, simply closing her eyes.
Her Greatest End-Related Fear
Her fear of starving if her feeding line needs to be cut off is one of the main reasons she selected VAD. She won’t put up with any more suffering.
Her physicians and nurses are aware that this anxiety is genuine because they have witnessed every moment of her agony. Before being approved, she naturally had to consult with psychologists as well.
After going through the entire process, she eventually got the news she had hardly dared to hope for three weeks later.
“I think it’s so weird to be happy, but I was so happy when I found out I was approved, I was crying,” Annie said.
She also mentioned the unexpected and priceless significance of selecting VAD. She will be living to hear all the nice things people would ordinarily save for her funeral.
She hopes to pass away at home for the time being. However, she is quite concerned about how it would affect her family.
“They remember me for who I am in this location. She said, “I would hate for them to be in a place where they’re constantly reminded of that moment and have no way out.”
If she can avoid it, she won’t cause them any more suffering. She has considered all sides of this contentious choice.
Because Annie feels that death and the decisions around it shouldn’t be taboo, she hopes that her tale will eventually encourage people to view VAD in a different way.
She has experienced many wonderful times, but she has also gone through experiences that no one else could really comprehend.
“In the end, it’s my body; I’ve endured the agony of being a number, not a person, and a part of a system for more than 12 years. We should all be able to talk about that,” Annie stated. “It’s my time, it’s my choice, nobody else’s.”
